Dereje Mekonnen
Dereje Mekonnen (* 1962 ; † between November 20 and 25, 2011 ) was an Ethiopian musician ( piano , keyboard ), arranger and composer .
Live and act
Dereje Mekonnen began his career in the early 1980s as a keyboardist in the Ibex Band, which accompanied R&B singer Mahmoud Ahmed on three albums. He then founded the formation Dallol , a reggae band with whom he performed in Chicago and accompanied Ziggy Marley on his Grammy- winning albums Conscious Party (1988) and One Bright Day (1989) . After numerous tours with Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers , he founded the band Gizzae around 1991 , with whom he performed mainly in Chicago and in the American Midwest. He also worked with Ethiopian musicians such as Tilahun Gessesse and Ephrem Tamiru ; he also produced Ejigayehu Shibabaw's first album , One Ethiopia (1998). He died at the age of 49.
Discographic notes
- Mahmoud Ahmed - Ethiopiques 7: Erè Mèla Mèla (Buda Musique, 1999)
- Ejigayehu Shibabaw - Gigi (Palm Pictures, 2001) with Bill Laswell , Henry Threadgill , Pharoah Sanders , Wayne Shorter , Art Baron
Web links
- Dereje Mekonnen at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mekonnen, Dereje |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Ethiopian musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1962 |
| DATE OF DEATH | between November 20, 2011 and November 25, 2011 |